Efficacy and safety of quarter-dose blood pressure-lowering agents: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
File(s)
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
There is a critical need for blood pressure–lowering strategies that have greater efficacy and minimal side effects. Low-dose combinations hold promise in this regard, but there are few data on very-low-dose therapy. We, therefore, conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials with at least one quarter-dose and one placebo and standard-dose monotherapy arm. A search was conducted of Medline, Embase, Cochrane Registry, Food and Drug Administration, and European Medicinal Agency websites. Data on blood pressure and adverse events were pooled using a fixed-effect model, and bias was assessed using Cochrane risk of bias. The review included 42 trials involving 20 284 participants. Thirty-six comparisons evaluated quarter-dose with placebo and indicated a blood pressure reduction of −4.7/−2.4 mm Hg (P<0.001). Six comparisons were of dual quarter-dose therapy versus placebo, observing a −6.7/ −4.4 mm Hg (P<0.001) blood pressure reduction. There were no trials of triple quarter-dose combination versus placebo, but one quadruple quarter-dose study observed a blood pressure reduction of −22.4/−13.1 mm Hg versus placebo (P<0.001). Compared with standard-dose monotherapy, the blood pressure differences achieved by single (37 comparisons), dual (7 comparisons), and quadruple (1 trial) quarter-dose combinations were +3.7/+2.6 (P<0.001), +1.3/−0.3 (NS), and −13.1/−7.9 (P<0.001) mm Hg, respectively. In terms of adverse events, single and dual quarter-dose therapy was not significantly different from placebo and had significantly fewer adverse events compared with standard-dose monotherapy. Quarter-dose combinations could provide improvements in efficacy and tolerability of blood pressure–lowering therapy.
Date Issued
2017-07-01
Date Acceptance
2017-04-13
Citation
Hypertension, 2017, 70 (1), pp.85-93
ISSN
0194-911X
Publisher
American Heart Association
Start Page
85
End Page
93
Journal / Book Title
Hypertension
Volume
70
Issue
1
Copyright Statement
© 2017 American Heart Association, Inc. This is a non-final version of an article published in final form in Hypertension 2017; 70: 85–93, https://dx.doi.org/10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.117.09202
Identifier
http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000402880500017&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=1ba7043ffcc86c417c072aa74d649202
Subjects
Science & Technology
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
Peripheral Vascular Disease
Cardiovascular System & Cardiology
blood pressure
hypertension
meta-analysis
pharmacology
safety
DISEASE RISK-MANAGEMENT
COMBINATION THERAPY
HYDROCHLOROTHIAZIDE COMBINATION
FACTORIAL DESIGN
HYPERTENSION
MONOTHERAPY
PREVENTION
COUNTRIES
DRUGS
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2017-06-05